Amazing Spider-Man #3Review

If there's been a problem with the Amazing Spider-Man relaunch so far, it's that Electro has seemed like a pointless inclusion as a villain. Sure, he just made his movie debut and everything, but this story arc has done little with Max Dillon and his out-of-control powers. Luckily, issue #3 rectifies that problem to a certain extent by revealing that Black Cat is really the central antagonist of this story. Her newfound hatred of Spider-Man is one of the more interesting status quo shifts Dan Slott has made in recent months, and she makes for a far more interesting threat to Peter Parker's new world than Electro.

Issue #3 is particularly crammed with new developments on multiple fronts - Peter trying to move his company forward, Felicia making her move, J. Jonah Jameson finding a new opportunity, and so on. There's also another opening vignette featuring the mysterious Silk, who immediately becomes more interesting thanks to an unexpected revelation. The script does become cluttered at times, calling to mind Superior Spider-Man in its more hectic months. On the other hand, with this series only shipping once a month, Slott really does need to keep the pace brisk so that readers get their fill with each issue. It's a more difficult balance than ever to strike between plot momentum and giving each thread the attention it needs.

As usual, Humberto Ramos' art works better during the action scenes than it does the quieter, character-driven moments. Some of his facial work is wonky in this issue (wonkier than usual, anyway), but there's also plenty of energy to the clash between Spidey and Black Cat or JJJ's latest vitriolic rampage.